JP2011193995A - Information processor, processing method of the same, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor whose operability, when measuring a distribution angle of a predetermined region within a vascular tomographic image is improved, and to provide its processing method and a program.SOLUTION: When an inner wall region of a blood vessel in the vascular tomographic image is detected upon instructions to start angle measurement, the information processor detects a center of the detected inner wall region as a first point, and when the inner wall region of the blood vessel is not detected, it detects a center of a catheter within the vascular tomographic image as the first point. Then the information processor detects coordinates of a group of second points designated based on operator's instruction, and measures the angle between the first points and the group of the second points.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a processing method thereof, and a program.

  Conventionally, for the diagnosis of arteriosclerosis, preoperative diagnosis during endovascular treatment using a high-function catheter such as a balloon catheter or stent, or confirmation of postoperative results, an optical coherence tomography diagnostic apparatus (OCT) or its improvement An optical coherent tomography diagnostic apparatus (OFDI) using a wavelength sweep which is a type is used (for example, Patent Document 1). Hereinafter, the optical coherence tomography diagnostic apparatus (OCT) and the optical coherence tomography diagnostic apparatus (OFDI) using wavelength sweep are collectively referred to as an image diagnostic apparatus.

  A catheter that is inserted into a body cavity such as a blood vessel is attached to such an image diagnostic apparatus. Inside the catheter, a transmission / reception unit is provided that transmits measurement light toward a body cavity tissue (for example, a blood vessel) and receives reflected light from the body cavity tissue. For measurement (eg, diagnosis), a catheter is inserted into the blood vessel. The transmission / reception unit emits measurement light into the blood vessel in a rotated state and receives the reflected light. Thereby, radial scanning in the blood vessel is performed. The diagnostic imaging apparatus generates interference light by causing the received reflected light and reference light to interfere with each other, and captures a tomographic image of the blood vessel based on the interference light.

  Among plaques, a plaque having a high blood cell component called “Lipid Plaque” is known. When measuring lipid plaque (hereinafter simply referred to as plaque), the measurement light (near infrared light) from the transmitter / receiver is attenuated by the blood cell component. Therefore, the depth of measurement light toward the wall surface of the blood vessel is low. In the tomographic image obtained as a result, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), the vicinity of the surface layer of the plaque portion can be seen, but after that, it will be dark. A plaque having a large blood cell component has a causal relationship with the occurrence frequency of arteriosclerotic plaque (VP), and is an important value in diagnosis.

  Here, an apparatus for displaying a medical image is known. For example, Patent Document 2 refers to a technique for obtaining the center of a luminal organ region in order to support diagnosis by a doctor. In the technique of Patent Document 2, a setting operation of a processing target region (luminal organ region) is received from an operator, and the center of gravity position of the received region is obtained. More specifically, the coordinates of all the pixels in the processing target area are added and divided by the total number of pixels. Thereby, the position of the center of gravity is obtained.

JP 2009-128074 A International Publication No. 2006/118100 Pamphlet

  In recent years, it has been reported that the amount of plaque correlates with the distribution angle of plaque. As shown in FIG. 8B, the plaque distribution angle is an angle between the center of the blood vessel inner wall and both ends of the plaque. That is, when measuring the distribution angle of the plaque, the center position must be determined. Such distribution angles are used not only in plaques but also in various medical fields. For example, for calcified lesions, the use of the rotor may be determined by the angle of the lesion.

  Here, with the technique of Patent Document 2 described above, the center of gravity (center) position of a certain area can be obtained. However, prior to this processing, the operator must indicate the target area. Therefore, when performing the above-described angle measurement using this technique, the operator must indicate the target area each time, and this operation is complicated for the operator, and the operability is also poor. .

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an information processing apparatus, a processing method thereof, and a program for improving operability when measuring a distribution angle of a predetermined region in a tomographic image. The purpose is to do.

  In order to solve the above problem, an information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires a tomographic image of a blood vessel imaged by inserting a catheter into the blood vessel, and a first point in the tomographic image. Instructing means for instructing start of angle measurement with the second point group, area detecting means for detecting an inner wall area of the blood vessel designated based on an operator instruction, and measurement of the angle by the instructing means If the inner wall region of the blood vessel is detected by the region detecting means at the start instruction, the center of the detected inner wall region is detected as the first point, and the blood vessel is detected by the region detecting means. If an inner wall region is not detected, center detecting means for detecting the center of the catheter in the tomographic image of the blood vessel as the first point, and a front designated based on an instruction from the operator Comprising a measuring point detecting means for detecting the coordinates of the second point group, and a measuring means for measuring the angle between the first point and the second point group.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve operability when measuring a distribution angle of a predetermined region in a tomographic image.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the information processing apparatus concerning one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining an example of the outline | summary of imaging | photography of the tomographic image of a blood vessel. It is a figure which shows an example of the layout of UI screen (angle measurement screen). It is a figure which shows an example of the angle measurement process when the inner wall area | region of a blood vessel is instruct | indicated by the operator. It is a figure which shows an example of the angle measurement process when the inner wall area | region of the blood vessel is not instruct | indicated by the operator. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a process in the information processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of a modification. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of a prior art.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The information processing apparatus 10 includes an input unit 11, a display unit 12, a control unit 13, a storage unit 14, and a communication unit 15 as its functional configuration.

  The input unit 11 is realized by, for example, a keyboard or a pointing device (for example, a mouse), and inputs various instructions from the operator into the apparatus. The display unit 12 is realized by, for example, a display and outputs various types of information to the operator.

  The controller 13 is realized by a memory such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The control unit 13 performs overall control of processing in the information processing apparatus 10. That is, various processes in the information processing apparatus 10 are performed by the CPU reading and executing a program stored in the storage unit 14 using the memory as a work area.

  The storage unit 14 is realized by an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or the like and stores various data. For example, various programs such as an operating system and applications are stored in the storage unit 14. The storage unit 14 also stores, for example, a tomographic image of a blood vessel taken by an image diagnostic apparatus.

  The communication unit 15 is realized by a network card, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) card, or the like, and controls communication between the information processing apparatus 10 and other apparatuses (for example, an image diagnostic apparatus). The above is the description of the various processing functions that constitute the information processing apparatus 10. Note that the information processing apparatus 10 may be in an environment connected to a network or the like, or may be in an environment in which it operates alone (standalone).

  Next, an example of a functional configuration realized in the control unit 13 will be described.

  The control unit 13 includes, as its functional configuration, an image acquisition unit 21, an inner wall region detection unit 22, a determination unit 23, a center detection unit 24, a measurement point detection unit 25, an angle measurement unit 26, and display processing. And a portion 27. These processing functions are realized, for example, when the CPU reads and executes the center point detection program stored in the storage unit 14 using the memory as a work area.

  The image acquisition unit 21 acquires a tomographic image of a blood vessel imaged based on irradiation from the transmission / reception unit 82 in the catheter 81. Examples of the acquisition destination of the image by the image acquisition unit 21 include the storage unit 14 and an image diagnostic apparatus. Here, the outline of imaging of a tomographic image of a blood vessel will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, a tomographic image of a blood vessel is taken by the above-described image diagnostic apparatus (optical coherence tomographic image diagnostic apparatus (OCT), optical coherent tomographic image diagnostic apparatus (OFDI)).

  Here, the catheter 81 is inserted into a body cavity such as a blood vessel. A transmission / reception unit 82 is provided inside the catheter 81. The transmission / reception unit 82 transmits the measurement light toward the tissue in the body cavity (blood vessel in the present embodiment) and receives the reflected light from the tissue in the body cavity. For measurement (for example, diagnosis), the catheter 81 is inserted into the blood vessel. The transmitter / receiver 82 emits measurement light into the blood vessel in a rotated state and receives the reflected light. Thereby, radial scanning in the blood vessel is performed. The diagnostic imaging apparatus generates interference light by causing the received reflected light and reference light to interfere with each other, and captures a tomographic image of the blood vessel based on the interference light.

  In FIG. 2A, the catheter 81 is located at the center of the blood vessel cross section. However, when the catheter 81 is inserted into the blood vessel, it is not always located at such a position. For example, as shown in FIG. 2B, the catheter 81 may be positioned at a position shifted from the center of the blood vessel cross section.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the inner wall region detection unit 22 detects the inner wall region of the blood vessel from the tomographic image acquired by the image acquisition unit 21. The detection of the inner wall region of the blood vessel is performed based on an instruction from the operator via the input unit 11. As a method of designating an area by an operator, for example, a method of designating a plurality of coordinates (for example, three points) indicating an inner wall area can be cited. In this case, the inner wall region detection unit 22 traces and connects pixels that pass through the designated coordinates and have similar color information such as luminance to the pixels of the designated coordinates, thereby connecting the inner walls. Detect areas. The method of specifying the inner wall region is not limited to this, and for example, the inner wall region of the blood vessel may be specified by surrounding the inner wall of the blood vessel in the tomographic image with a round frame or the like by a drag operation.

  The determination unit 23 determines whether an inner wall region is instructed by the operator. This determination is made based on whether or not the inner wall region is detected by the inner wall region detector 22.

  The center detection unit 24 detects a center point when measuring the distribution angle of a predetermined region (in the present embodiment, plaque) based on the determination result of the determination unit 23. More specifically, when the determination unit 23 determines that the inner wall region has been instructed by the operator, the center detection unit 24 uses the center of the inner wall region of the blood vessel detected by the inner wall region detection unit 22 as the center point. To detect.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the inner wall region is not instructed by the operator, the center detection unit 24 detects the center of the catheter as the center point. For example, the catheter may be identified by tracing the high luminance component in the tomographic image (generally, the catheter portion in the tomographic image has high luminance), and the center thereof may be detected. The method of detecting the center of the catheter is not limited to this. For example, a catheter imaging pattern is held in advance, and the pattern is recognized using the pattern, whereby the catheter is identified from the captured image, and the center of the catheter is detected. May be detected.

  The measurement point detection unit 25 detects a plurality of measurement points (coordinate information) based on an instruction (instruction using a mouse or the like) from the operator via the input unit 11. For example, when the operator operates the mouse or the like and clicks and indicates a measurement point (two), the measurement point detection unit 25 detects the coordinates of the clicked position as the measurement point.

  The angle measurement unit 26 uses the three points of the center point detected by the center detection unit 24 and the measurement points (two points) detected by the measurement point detection unit 25, and the angle between the two points with respect to the center point. Is measured (calculated).

  The display processing unit 27 displays various screens on the display unit 12. For example, when the angle is measured, a UI screen shown in FIG.

  Next, an example of a UI screen (angle measurement screen) used during angle measurement will be described with reference to FIG.

  The angle measurement screen is roughly divided into an image display area 30 and an operation area 40. The operation area 40 is provided with a patient information area 41 for displaying patient information, an angle information area 42 for displaying angle information, and a button for operating an image displayed in the image display area 30. A display control area 43 is provided.

  The angle information area 42 is provided with an output field 51 for displaying the measured angle and a button 52 for instructing angle measurement. When the button 52 is pressed after the operator has instructed the inner wall region of the blood vessel, the center of the blood vessel inner wall is detected, and when the button 52 is pressed without the instruction being given by the operator, The center of the catheter is detected.

  The display control area 43 is provided with a plurality of lists 54 for specifying zoom (enlargement or reduction) of an image being displayed and a plurality of display switching buttons 53 for switching the image being displayed.

  In the image display area 30, a measurement image is displayed. The measurement image is a tomographic image of a blood vessel taken by the diagnostic imaging apparatus. In the tomographic image shown in FIG. 3, a plaque 61 and a catheter 62 are included. Here, the point 71 indicates the center position of the blood vessel in the tomographic image, and the point 72 indicates the center position of the catheter in the tomographic image. As described above, when the inner wall of the blood vessel is instructed by the operator, the center point 71 is detected as the center of the inner wall of the blood vessel, and when the instruction is not performed by the operator, the center of the catheter is set as the center point 72. Detected.

  Here, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, an angle measurement process in the case where the inner wall region of the blood vessel is instructed by the operator will be described. FIG. 4 shows an excerpt of a tomographic image of a blood vessel displayed in the image display area 30 described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 4A, a tomographic image 60 of the blood vessel is shown. This tomographic image 60 includes a plaque 61 and a catheter 62. Here, the operator instructs the inner wall of the blood vessel by an operation via the input unit 11. By this instruction, as shown in FIG. 4B, the inner wall of the blood vessel is surrounded by a dotted frame 73, for example.

  Here, the operator presses the button 52 shown in FIG. 3 via the input unit 11. Then, the information processing apparatus 10 calculates the center position of the dotted frame 73. As a result, a center point 71 is set in the tomographic image as shown in FIG.

  Next, the operator designates coordinates indicating both ends of the plaque along the circumference of the blood vessel inner wall via the input unit 11. More specifically, for example, the operator designates a point on a line segment passing through the center point 71 and one end of the plaque 61 as the first measurement point (for example, the point 74), and the center point 71 and the plaque. A point on the line segment passing through the other end of 61 is designated as the second measurement point (for example, point 75).

  Here, in the tomographic image, as shown in FIG. 4D, two coordinates (74, 75) are designated on a line segment extending from the center point 71 to the end of the plaque 61, respectively. Then, the information processing apparatus 10 calculates an angle between the two points with respect to the center point 71 and displays the calculated angle in the field 51 illustrated in FIG.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the angle measurement process when the inner wall region of the blood vessel is not instructed by the operator will be described. FIG. 5 shows an excerpt of a tomographic image of a blood vessel displayed in the image display area 30 described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 5A, a tomographic image 60 of a blood vessel is shown. This tomographic image 60 includes a plaque 61 and a catheter 62. The operator presses the button 52 shown in FIG. 3 via the input unit 11 without designating the inner wall region of the blood vessel. Thereafter, the operator instructs coordinates indicating both ends of the plaque via the input unit 11. In the tomographic image, as shown in FIG. 5B, a center point 72 is set at the center of the catheter 62, and coordinates (74, 74) are on a line segment extending from the center point 72 to the end of the plaque 61. 75) are designated respectively. The information processing apparatus 10 calculates the angle between the two points with respect to the center point 72 and displays the calculated angle in the field 51 shown in FIG.

  Depending on the tomographic image, as shown in FIG. 2A described above, the center of the catheter 62 may coincide with or substantially coincide with the center of the inner wall of the blood vessel. In such a case, it can be said that the process shown in FIG. 5 with the center of the catheter 62 as the center point 72 is very effective.

  Here, an example of the flow of processing in the information processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the flow of the angle measurement process will be described. Note that the angle measurement process is triggered by the pressing of the button 52 shown in FIG.

  When the angle measurement process is started, the information processing apparatus 10 determines whether the inner wall region of the blood vessel is instructed by the operator in the determination unit 23. As a result of the determination, if the inner wall area is instructed by the operator (YES in S102), the information processing apparatus 10 calculates the center position of the instructed inner wall area in the center detecting unit 24, and uses the position as the center point. (S103).

  On the other hand, if the result of determination in SS101 is that the inner wall region is not instructed by the operator (NO in S102), the information processing apparatus 10 identifies the catheter in the center detection unit 24 (S104), and the center of the identified catheter A center point is set at the position (S105).

  Here, the information processing apparatus 10 waits until a measurement point is input by the operator (NO in S106). Here, the operator performs an input to instruct an end of a plaque or the like via the input unit 11. Then, the information processing apparatus 10 detects the input measurement point in the measurement point detection unit 25 (S107 after YES in S106). Then, the angle measurement unit 26 calculates an angle between the center point detected in either S103 or S105 and the measurement point (two points) (S108). Thereafter, the information processing apparatus 10 displays the calculated angle in the display processing unit 27, and then the process ends.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the inner wall region of the blood vessel is instructed by the operator, the center of the region is set as the center point (first point), and when the instruction is not performed, The angle between the measurement point group (second point group) indicating the end of the plaque designated by the operator and the center point (first point) with the center of the catheter as the center point (first point) Measure.

  As a result, the operator does not necessarily need to designate the inner wall region of the blood vessel when measuring the angle, so that the load on the operator can be reduced and the operability is improved.

  The above is an example of a typical embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, and can be appropriately modified and implemented within the scope not changing the gist thereof. .

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the processing when a plurality of tomographic images are targeted is not mentioned, but in this case, for other tomographic images using a center point detected from a specific tomographic image. Alternatively, the center point may be set. Here, as an example of this, a process for performing the above-described angle measurement on a plurality of tomographic images arranged in time series in the imaging order will be briefly described.

  In the case of a plurality of tomographic images arranged in chronological order in the imaging order, a tomographic image at a first time point (for example, a tomographic image captured first in time) and a second time point (in terms of time from the first time point). The operator instructs the inner wall region of the blood vessel only for the later tomographic image (the tomographic image taken last in time), and the information processing device 10 estimates the inner wall region of the blood vessel in the other tomographic images. You may do it. Here, FIG. 7 shows a plurality of tomographic images arranged in time series in the photographing order. In the first tomographic image 101, the inner wall region 90 of the blood vessel is in the lower right in the image, but in the last tomographic image 102, the inner wall region 93 of the blood vessel is in the upper left in the image. In this case, the inner wall region in the tomographic image located in the meantime is detected by the inner wall region detecting unit 22 by estimating from the inner wall region of the blood vessel designated for the first and last tomographic images. That is, in the case of FIG. 7, detection is performed by gradually moving the position of the inner wall region from the lower right to the upper left from the first image 101 to the last image 102. Based on the detection result, the center point is set for all tomographic images on the information processing apparatus 10 side (center detection unit 24). Even in this case, the load on the operator can be reduced and the operability can be improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the inner wall region of the blood vessel is not instructed by the operator, the center point is set at the center of the catheter. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, default coordinates indicating a predetermined position in the tomographic image may be determined in advance and set as the center point.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the center is set on the inner wall of the blood vessel as the center of the angle has been described as an example. For example, the center of the outer wall region of the blood vessel or the stent region may be set.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the angle measurement process described above is performed in the information processing apparatus 10 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the information processing apparatus 10 described above may be incorporated in an image diagnostic apparatus, and angle measurement processing may be performed in the image diagnostic apparatus. In this case, in the diagnostic imaging apparatus, for example, the above-described angle measurement can be performed while taking a tomographic image of a blood vessel.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the above-described angle measurement process is performed on a tomographic image of a blood vessel photographed by an image diagnostic apparatus using light has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the diagnostic imaging apparatus may be a type of apparatus that captures a tomographic image of a blood vessel using ultrasound. Similarly to the above, angle measurement can be performed on a tomographic image taken using ultrasonic waves.

  Further, the processing in the information processing apparatus 10 described in the above-described embodiment may be performed by a program installed in a computer. This program can be provided not only by communication means such as a network but also by storing it in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD.

Claims (6)

An acquisition means for acquiring a tomographic image of a blood vessel imaged by inserting a catheter into the blood vessel;
Instruction means for instructing start of measurement of an angle between the first point and the second point group in the tomographic image;
Area detecting means for detecting an inner wall area of the blood vessel designated based on an operator's instruction;
When an instruction to start measurement of the angle by the instruction unit is performed, if the inner wall region of the blood vessel is detected by the region detection unit, the center of the detected inner wall region is detected as the first point, In the case where the inner wall region of the blood vessel is not detected by the region detecting means, center detecting means for detecting the center of the catheter in the tomographic image of the blood vessel as the first point;
Measurement point detection means for detecting the coordinates of the second point group designated based on an operator's instruction;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a measuring unit that measures an angle between the first point and the second point group. The tomographic image of the blood vessel includes a plaque image,
The measurement point detecting means includes
Based on an operator's instruction, located on a line segment passing through the first point and one end of the plaque, and on a line segment passing through the first point and the other end of the plaque The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a point to be detected is detected as coordinates of the second point group. The acquisition means includes
Acquire multiple tomographic images arranged in chronological order
The region detecting means includes
An inner wall region of the blood vessel designated by an operator with respect to a predetermined image of the plurality of tomographic images, and an image taken later in time than the predetermined image of the plurality of tomographic images 2. The information processing according to claim 1, further comprising: estimating and detecting the inner wall region of the blood vessel in a tomographic image taken during the time based on the inner wall region of the blood vessel designated by the operator. apparatus. The center detecting means includes
When the inner wall region of the blood vessel is not detected by the region detecting means, the catheter is identified by tracing a high luminance component in the tomographic image of the blood vessel, and the center thereof is detected as the first point. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: A processing method in an information processing apparatus,
An acquisition step of acquiring a tomographic image of a blood vessel imaged by inserting a catheter into the blood vessel;
An instruction step for instructing start of measurement of an angle between the first point and the second point group in the tomographic image;
An area detection step of detecting an inner wall area of the blood vessel designated based on an operator's instruction;
If the inner wall region of the blood vessel is detected when the angle measurement start instruction is detected, the center of the detected inner wall region is detected as the first point, and the inner wall region of the blood vessel is detected. If not, a center detecting step of detecting the center of the catheter in the tomographic image of the blood vessel as the first point;
A measurement point detection step of detecting coordinates of the second point group designated based on an operator's instruction;
A measuring step of measuring an angle between the first point and the second point group. Computer
An acquisition means for acquiring a tomographic image of a blood vessel imaged by inserting a catheter into the blood vessel;
Instruction means for instructing start of measurement of an angle between the first point and the second point group in the tomographic image;
Area detecting means for detecting an inner wall area of the blood vessel designated based on an operator's instruction;
When an instruction to start measurement of the angle by the instruction unit is performed, if the inner wall region of the blood vessel is detected by the region detection unit, the center of the detected inner wall region is detected as the first point, Center detection means for detecting the center of the catheter in the tomographic image of the blood vessel as the first point when the inner wall region of the blood vessel is not detected by the region detection means;
Measuring point detecting means for detecting coordinates of the second point group designated based on an operator's instruction;
The program for functioning as a measurement means which measures the angle between said 1st point and said 2nd point group.

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